In 2022, my friend invited me to see Augustine live. I had no idea who he was so I listened to his songs a few weeks before the gig. It changed my life. No song, in my almost 22 years of living, is able to make me feel whatever indescribable emotion 'Guts' makes me feel. Front row, I waited until the very end, as everyone did, for the encore where he would finally sing 'Guts'. Thank whatever being is out there that I experienced that because I was louder than him (literally... it was a small venue) singing that song. Since that day, Augustine and I have been planning this interview and only now our schedules aligned! Augustine is a force of talent, a lovely human and if you don't listen to 'Guts/ right now, your loss.
ME: I have to start this interview off in a bias way by asking about guts; where did that beautiful song stem from?
AUGUSTINE: I had the piano riff for a while but it was much more acoustic and mellow but in 2019 I went to a Swedish island and me and my friend tried to add a beat and speed it up. I have no idea where the chorus came from, it was in the moment!
M: I also think it’s impossible not to talk about your insane vocals; where did you learn to hit such high notes?
A: I would practice a lot by myself in my room because I didn't want my family to hear me! I kind of naturally realised what I could reach in terms of notes by practicing alone all the time, it felt comfortable and matched what I wanted to make!
M: you’ve just released your new album Youth and Why It Ends; what triggered the creation of this album?
A: It was also my with my friend and it was a similar process to 'guts'. For days we didn't get anywhere, we couldn't write, we were confused and scared! *He laughs*, but then we had the idea to work individually on something, then keep swapping our laptops and let the other do their thing on it, which worked! It was a lucky mistake - to add more strings and a 70s sound, that's what we wanted.
M: throughout your career its clear that you’ve had a strong sense of identity through your aesthetic and themes; do you feel like your musical identity is strong?
A: I didn't think that much about it before we started. From the beginning, it all just kind of worked. We went from there! I've always enjoyed music that was warm, that made you feel like summer. It clicked.
M: part of that is the colour blue; where does your connection with blue come from?
A: I guess now I'm sort of searching for it; that now it feels like yes, this feels like Augustine. I find it on my way, as a journey.
M: you’ve reached millions of listens on so many of your songs; did you ever think you’d reach so many people?
A: No! I try to remember where we even got the courage to release the first songs! We always enjoyed writing and making music and initially thought only friends and family would listen to it, we never thought it would reach outside of Sweden.
M: how does it feel to know there’s an audience that actively listen to, wait for, watch your work, etc?
A: It's hard to describe; it's wonderful. You always want to give more, like tour more than what is possible. It feels too small to only give once a year, but that's just in my own head, from insecurity.
M: what has your journey with music been like?
A: It's been like finding myself as an artist. In the first year, everything was so new and now I'm used to it. I feel a little more used to it but still, its new in a different way.
M: I like to end on a fun one, if you could rewrite any song in the world which one would it be and why?
A: I would cover "Thåström - Över Sundet" - I wouldn't redo it because I think it's perfect the way it is but I would put my own little twist on it!
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